Rastas, Wickham spar over vaccine opposition

The Rastafarian community is taking popular political scientist Peter Wickham to task over recent comments suggesting that those who do not take the vaccine may very well have a challenge mixing with those who do.

In fact, the Rastafari Progressive Movement (RPM) likened Wickham’s comments to the racially-laced rant recently captured on video and circulated on social media.

While hosting the radio programme Down to Brass Tacks on Thursday, Wickham took note of the Rastafarian community’s position that its members would not be taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

Wickham acknowledged that it was their constitutional right not to take the jab, but went on to suggest that a stance could also be taken that people who did not take the COVID-19 vaccine should not be allowed to occupy the same space as those who did.

“If the Rastafarians believe they are better off not taking it then they stay up in the hills and smoke their herb and stay away from society,” Wickham said.

“What I would suggest, however, is that they [be] precluded from access to areas in which others among us can be affected, because if you are saying that they stay by themselves they stay by themselves, but if you are going to come into a supermarket or if you are going to come into the general population for any reason whatsoever then you have to abide by the rules and regulations that govern the regular society.”

However, this immediately drew the ire of the Rastafari group, who told Barbados TODAY that while Wickham’s statement might have been said out of ignorance, it was an “attack” on every Barbadian who chose not to be inoculated against the COVID-19 virus.

“Mr Wickham’s statement while steeped in ignorance and directed at Rastafari, has hit every Barbadian reserving their right not to take the vaccine. Something must be done about this attack on Barbadians and a simple apology will not suffice,” said the RPM.

Pointing out that the Rastafari community was not the only segment of the society that was anti-vaccine, the group questioned, “Where should all the other people who are not going to take the vaccine go?

“Where should the Mormons go seeing they have expressed grave concerns about the taking of the COVID-19 vaccine? Where should the Nation of Islam go seeing their highly esteemed leader Minister Farrakhan has advised members of that community not to take the vaccine? Where should the police people who said they were not taking it go? . . . Should all gay men be relegated to one part of the island with no contact with heterosexual people, what would happen?” the group said.

Government is targeting at least 60-70 per cent of the population in order to achieve herd immunity.

The RPM said by Wickham’s reasoning, it then meant that the entire 30 and 40 per cent of the population not vaccinated should be “isolated” from the rest of the population.

The group said: “Rastafari make up only three per cent of the Barbadian society. Is it then unreasonable that we seek to be included in the 30 per cent to 40 per cent of people not needed to be vaccinated?”

Stating that the Rastafarian community had a long history of being anti-vaccine, the Rastafari Progressive Movement further reasoned that going by Wickham’s statement then it would mean Rastafari children should not have been mixing with other children.

However, Wickham later clarified his position, telling Barbados TODAY his comments were solely based on hearing members of the Rastafari community saying “they don’t really deal with others in society”.

“The point I was making, however, is that the moment that you decide to associate with others, in that you are sending your children to school, you are going to work with others and you are exposing others to any illnesses that you may have then you may need to also subject yourself to vaccines. That is the reason we all carry vaccination cards to go to school. So that was basically all that I said,” explained Wickham.

The respected political scientist and talk show host said it was unfortunate that the Rastafari community felt attacked, but insisted that he agreed they had the right to refuse the vaccine while maintaining that they have to understand that a position like that also has consequences.

“One of the consequences they may very well have is that persons may decide ‘if you are not willing to be vaccinated in the same the way you are not willing to be vaccinated for polio, measles, mumps or rubella, or any of the illnesses that children are vaccinated against when they go in school, the school system may decide that we don’t want to have you in the school because you could pose a threat to others’. That was the position I was taking and I will stand by that,” said Wickham, who made it clear he had nothing against the Rastafari community.

(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)